Someone New
by ShuffleCat
Summary: Jack Frost has beaten Pitch Black but in the aftermath of the victory, he meets someone new. Someone none of them have heard of, and someone no child can see.
1. Chapter 1 - Bad First Impressions

_**Chapter 1**_

 _ **Bad First Impressions**_

 _She had only stepped out for a moment, to check on the nois that felt too close to be safe. The small creature was yelping, it's leg trapped in a set of metal teeth half buried in the snow. She set herself to setting the creature free from the metal contraption.  
The sounds of movement in the snow caught her attention, and she turned as she stood to face whatever was making the sound in the dense blanket of snow on the forest floor. The bow was already strung, and the arrow flew as straight as it could given the shooter's shaking arms. It was not straight enough; it missed it's target by what seemed to be miles. _

Winter had recently begun in the little town, and the children were outside enjoying the first real snow day of the year. The snow had fallen thick over night but was now a soft, consistent fall that ensured the snow day wouldn't end too early. Jack Frost sat on the roof a top Jamie's house.  
The young brown haired boy gave Jack a quick wave of 'hello' and 'thanks for the snow see you later' before running off with his friends; they all seemed to be carrying a wooden sled. Jack returned the wave with a smile, before asking for the wind to pick him up.

It was always fun when winter begins each year; perhaps not for everyone, but he always enjoyed it. Freshly fallen snow makes everything look better, he thought.

'Let's go check on him, huh?' He asked the wind, who happily carried him to where the young guardian wanted to go. Jack dropped from the air a few minutes later, floating to a soft landing on the frozen lake. He walked for a bit, enjoying the cold air with a smile plastered across his young face.

Jack eventally walked into the small clearing in the woods, where the old bed still stood. The bed was dirty, made of old wood and cloth that threatened to turn to dust, but never would. Jack knelt beside the bed and ran a hand along the snow beneath it. Solid, just a covering of snow over the dirt that usually lay there. An explosion of gold light on the ground startled him; knocking his head as he stood up from where he had knelt. Jack spun quickly, kicking his staff up to his hand as he did, ready for whatever was there.

Another small explosion came from the staff as it leant in front of his face. It would have been a direct shot had his staff not been there. Jack looked up and saw the figure across the clearing. A young girl stood in the snow, clad in a pair of brown pants and dark green hunters cloak that seemed to almost swallow her body. Jack let out a sigh and laughed to himself.

'Oh god, it's a hunter or something. Must be practicing her shot. Hello! Over here, hah!' Jack waved his arms, laughing at the girl with a smile on his face. The girls arms rose, arrow notched against the string of her bow. Eyes narrowed, the girl aimed and fired. Jack stared at the arrow, as it came towards him. He jumped to the side at the last second, and rolled along the ground until he could stand again. 'Careful there, you nearly hit me!' Jack was still smiling, he'd dodged out of reflex.

'That was the point.' The words came from the girls mouth, covered by the cloak. Jack stood fixed to the spot, looking at the figure that stood before him. He looked at the spots the arrows had struck. Small piles of golden sand were swirling on the ground, waiting for the wind to carry them away.

'You can't have that, that sand doesn't belong to you.' Jack said, looking back at the girl, who had reloaded her bow with a fresh arrow. The tip of it sparkling gold in the light of the day. Rustling in the trees to their side caught both of their attention and both spun to see what it was.

A young Jamie burst through the trees, and waved madly to Jack. 'Jack! Jack! Can we have a snow day tomorrow too? It's my friend's birthday and we wanna go- what's wrong?' Jamie was looking at Jack's confused face. Jamie knew that Pitch was done, otherwise Jack wouldn't be making snow days for him.

Jack held a hand out, making sure Jamie stayed where was standing and looked once again to the girl. Her bow was still raised, arrow ready to fire. It was staring straight between him and Jamie, but Jack had a feeling that the shot wouldn't be a miss if she picked a target. Jack was torn between getting Jamie home, and confronting the person who had been shooting at him.

'What are you looking at?' Jamie asked, following Jack's line of sight. 'Is there someone I can't see?' The young boy's voice was almost trembling, which made Jack's decision. He grabbed the boy, and called out to the wind. 'To Jamie's house, please!' and the two flew off, to drop Jamie off home where Jack told him, maybe, to the snow day request. Jack kept his eyes on the figure as the two disappeared over the trees; she had lowered her bow and was now looking at the bed, the sand glittering amongst the snow.


	2. Chapter 2 - Someone Unknown

_**Chapter 2**_

 _ **Someone Unknown**_

Jack's next immediate stop was the North Pole. He flew as quick as the cold winds would carry him; which to his relief, was _very_ fast. Jack dropped in through a skylight that the yetis often left open for the young boy's visits and stumbled to a standing stop in the North Pole's main area. His arrival startled a few of the yetis; one grumbling he'd have to restart the toys he had been working on. Jack half heard the yetis words as he rushed to find the others; he would apologise later.

They had planned a guardians meeting for that afternoon, and Jack was thankful for once. Tooth, North and Sandy were all in the middle of the large room they used for meetings. Bunny was sitting in a chair to the side, looking at paint swatches. Jack shook his head at the Pooka, and made a note to ask later. He didn't need to.

'Frost! Why didn't you mention these bloomin' things earlier! I won't have to rely on my eggs to remember dye batches anymore!' The rabbit like creature shouted at Frost. It was a tone of voice Jack knew was a mix of marvel, and annoyance Bunnymund hadn't thought of it himself.

'I- no, not now.' Jack started, before shaking his head at the Pooka. 'Okay so meeting start, I would like to raise a topic!' Jack shouted, catching everyone's attention. Jack was normally late, or tried to not have to attend the meetings at all. For him to be raising something for discussion, the others realised that it must be important.

'Err- go ahead mate. Floor's all yours.' Bunnymund said.

'Floor is not his! Is my workshop!' North started, but Tooth flew from her seat and shot him a look of _not now._ North kept his eyes on Bunny for a moment, before turning to Jack with a smile.

'Okay great, one point of discussion. First and only point; who was the person shooting arrows at me just before, in the woods?' Jack's question stunned the guardians. Suggestions of cupid rose, but were shot down by Tooth. 'He spends months making his arrows, he plans who to shoot and when to shoot them down to the minute, he wouldn't use them up on Jack! They won't even work on him.'

"They won't? Not important!' Jack flustered. ' They were golden and shooting at me and exploding!'

'Exploding?' Asked North.

'Well, whatever it is sand does when it hits something hard like my staff!' Jack held out his staff for the others to see the small bits of sand that had managed to cling on despite the ride in the wind. The sand shook, then floated off of the staff and made it's way to Sandy, where it joined the rest of the cloud that made up the short man. Sandy looked at the sand with a puzzled looked. A question mark formed over his head, then a bow and arrow, then a non descript figure of a person.

'It was near Pitch's bed! I was…checking on it.'  
"Again?" Tooth asked, concern growing in her voice. "Jack…" but she was waved off by Jack.

"No, no it's fine. I just like being able to tell Jamie it's still under control. I'm not sure if it helps him but, short of losing his memory I don't think he'll forget Pitch any time soon.' Jack knew it was true; the young boy may not fear Pitch, but he certainly knew he existed. Sandy was moving now, floating around the room slowly, while his thumb and finger rubbed his chin. Suddenly the man stopped, and an exclamation mark sprung from the sand above his head. Then he shook his head, and the sand floated back to normal. Jack's shoulders hung, and he slumped into a chair. He wasn't tired, he rarely was, but he felt off. The dream sand aided the Guardians, and it was a strange feeling to think of it being used against them. Pitch had tried and succeeded in doing so after twisting the sand but this was the sand in it's proper form.

'I thought it must've been some hunter practicing but….she could see me, and hear me. God I didn't even ask her name or anything. Jamie followed me and I…was worried she was going to shoot him. Thinking back now it would've just knocked himout but…' Jack's voicetrailed off until he stopped, and stared at the floor. The whole thing bothered him. He wanted answers but no one had any.

'How old were they?' Tooth asked, finally breaking the silence.

'Huh? Oh…my age I guess? Maybe a little older.'

'A teenager then. She must be a spirit of some kind, teenagers don't see us.'

'Really?" The word tumbled from jack's mouth.

Tooth let out a soft laugh. 'Yes but, it's alright. They always pretend for their younger siblings, they're a big part of what keeps holidays alive."

Jack nodded, thinking back of his own sister.

The group fell into silence as they all thought over what had happened with Jack. Sandy was the most confused. How had someone taken his sand, and managed to use it? Pitch had managed it but Pitch was incredibly powerful, and had twisted the sand so that it would follow his orders.

Sometime later, Jack looked at the clock that hung on the wall in the room, and sighed. It was early the next morning. Tooth and Bunny had already gone for the day, and Sandy had left the evening before in order to do his dream routine. The white haired spirit shook his head, and gave a gentle wave goodbye to North before he flew his way back out of the open skylight and began his trip to Burgess.


	3. Chapter 3 - A Thankful Fairy

**Chapter 3**

 _ **A Thankful Fairy**_

It was too late for a snow day by the time Jack sat down on Jamie's roof, and the little dark haired boy that was leaving the house gave Jack a look that Jack easily recognised. _This isn't a snow day, Jack Frost._

Jack laughed as Jamie began the walk to school; he'd have to make it up to the boy. He was with a small group of his frends so Jack knew he'd enjoy the walk to school. Jack settled into a little nook in the roof and spent some time watching the kids starting their day. There was a squeal in the distance. _A child laughing, or not wanting to go to school. Could be either._ Jack thought to himself, until the sound got louder and became continuous. Jack climbed to the top of the roof and searched for the source of the sound.

A car was coming down the main road, much too quickly. The tyres were squealing along the road as it took the turns. Jack shook his head. _The roads aren't terribly iceytoday but…god how stupid do you have to b-_ Jack's thoughts were cut off by the front tyre catching a small section of iced over road, and the car lurched to the side. A small group of children were huddled near a bus stop, unaware of the car's path changing to head towards them. Jack shot from the roof.

Jack was fast, he knew it, so did the Guardians. Pitch had learnt it as well, in the end. That morning, for those few seconds, Jack felt incredibly slow. He was near the car, ready to block it somehow when the figure appeared. A mess of green and red, seemed to climb up from under the car and with a firm shove of their arms, the car came to a creaking halt, inches from the children. The figure stood in place, hands resting against the car, feet pressed firmly into the snowy ground. It was the screams of the children, and the adults rushing over to see what had happened that brought Jack's thoughts away from the figure. Jack had a sudden thought, and an immense sense of dread filled his head. _Jamie_.

Jack rushed over and hovered above the group, scanning the huddle of kids for his favourite one. Jack saw the boy across the road, with his friends. They had stopped to see what was happening. Convinced now that Jamie was in fact alive, and not in the group that had very nearly been squished, Jack was able to pull himself away and leave the group of children where they were. The wind carried Jack silently, where it would normally whisper in his ear about what was happening in the world. The wind carried him without a word, to where it could feel he wanted to go. Jack dropped to his feet softly, eyes on the bed in the clearing. Jack was on his guard; staff in both hands, ready for attacks.

Minutes passed silently and nothing came for him. The bed was quiet, as broken and dirty as ever, and the sand had disappeared with the wind days ago. This would be impossible! How was he supposd to hunt down someone he didn't know, and hadn't even known existed until now? Jack kicked at the snow on the ground and had a thought. _She's an archer._

With that thought, the wind grabbed him and pulled him hard into the air, taking him where he wanted to go, but didn't know how to get there.

The wind dropped Jack outside a small cottage. It was a pleasant looking home; raw stone and wod madeup the majority of the building, and small details ofpainted wood and wood carvings added an extra feeling of homeliness. Jack had no idea if this was the right place but he trusted the wind, and knocked on the door. The door flew open as Jack's hand touched it.

'Hello! I'm J-'

'Jack Frost, I am going to guess.' The slender man replied. He had long hair tied in a tidy bun. His slender body was clothed in loose brown pants, and a pale coloured shirt. 'While it's lovely to meet the newest guardian, I am a little confused as to why you might be visiting.'

'You're an archer, yes?' Jack asked.

The man let out a laugh and nodded at Jack. 'I imagine you know the answer to that, but yes, what can I do for you Mr Frost? We do not really match up, season wise. Winter has only just begun, surely you would be assisting North in preparing for christmas?'

Jack took a deep breath and looked at the man properly. 'Jack is fine' he said with a smile. _Mister sounds odd._ 'I was wondering if you could help me with… someone.'

This caught the attention of the man, who welcomed Jack into his home. Jack gently lowered himself into a plush armchair, taking care not to make the home too cold. He didn't want to annoy his host.

'So, who do you need help with?'

'That's what I need help with; I don't know who they are.' Jack said, and going with his hot's silence, continued. ' I was checking on Pitch's bed and there was this explosion of… gold, and when I looked up there was-'

'A lady with a bow?' The man asked, his face still a smile. "I am not surprised you have not heard of her, many spirits have not.'

'Okay but who is she? What's her holiday?' Jack asked, impatient for information.

"She does not have a holiday." The man said plainly, and saw Jack's face fall.

"How can she not… is she a seasonal then?'

"No. She is….I suppose most similar to Sandman. It is his sand that she uses after all. I'm afraid I do not know her name, it has been lost in the wind overtime; it happens when you don't use it. She has not needed it for some time, and things sometimes just drift away. She is the spirit of protection.'

"That… shouldn't it be Guardian of protection?' Jack asked. The title was very Guardian-esque. Guardian of Fun, Guardian of Memories. Joy, hope. Why was protection not up there?

"She was given her role, nothing else." Jack nodded in reply and stood. The two said their goodbyes. The man properly introduced himself as Eros, he told Jack that he much prefered the name to Cupid or Valentine. Jack stepped outside, gave a final wave goodbye and allowed the wind to carry him up and away. They floated along the sky, slowly, enjoying time together again. Jack was silent, and he knew the wind worriedabout him when he was quiet. He had ridden the wind silently a lot lately and it was fretting about him as they flew along.

'How can… does she not have a name? Does she not know it? How can a name drift away, it makes no sense!' Jack spoke aloud, not expecting an answer. 'None of the past three hundred years have made any sense so I guess it shouldn't start to now.' Jack said bitterly as he dropped from the sky, and floated into the workshop of the North Pole. North was busy, as was Bunny and Tooth. Sandy would be busy finishing up his dream routine in another part of the world.

Jack was thankful for the quiet as he pulled himself onto a window sill, and looked out at the snowy landscape of the North Pole. It was flat and white, and so pristine it made Jack's heart sing when he saw it; normally. Today it felt empty and oddly, so did Jack. He couldn't explain why he felt like that. It was a feeling he didn't enjoy but it felt familiar. A feeling he had tried to squish down and keep hidden. He'd spent nearly three hundred years living with that feeling, he wasn't happy that it was starting to creep back.

Jack didn't notice when North came into the room, and set his eyes on the winter spirit. He set himself into a larger than normal chair and let out a cough. Jack turned his head to the noise, caught in his thoughts. 'Oh, heya North.' He said weakly, then went back to looking out the window.

"Something is troubling." North said. Jack noticed he didn't ask, he said it. He knew. Jack looked at North; he was a larger than life sort of man. The real Santa. Jack had begun to somewhat regard the man as… not quite a father, but close. Jack remembered his sister quite well but had some issues remembering his parents.

'No it's…. I went and spoke to Eros. He was nice." Jack was speaking quietly.

"Eros? Haven't spoke to him in a donkey's age, how's the ol' mate doing?' Came Bunny, as he came in through the door.

"Good, confused by me visiting I think."

"Ahh that'd be fair. Why, well, why'd you visit him?" Bunny asked, settling in his own seat near North.

"I thought he might know who it was I saw; also being an archer and all. I thought of it when I was thinking about our chat the other day, when you guys suggested him."

"Ah, was good idea Jack! Was helpful?' North asked.

"He was. He doesn't know her name, said it had drifted off into the wind or something. It… he said she a spirit of protection but… it sounds like a guardian title, almost." Jack said, expecting the others to laugh.

"Protection? I can't say I've ever heard of her mate, what's she like, besides the shooting?' Bunny asked.

"I haven't spoken to her again so the shooting is kind of our bar now. Well, that's not true – she stopped a car froms squishing some kids." Jack explained what had happened when he saw the shocked looks on their faces. "I'm guessing she has red hair, it had come out of the cloak when she stopped the car."

Bunny was engaged in the conversation but North was sitting quietly, thinking to himself.

"Where did she come from?" He asked finally.

"Oh, I'm not sure really. She just kind of…" Jack couldn't finish.

"Appeared? " North finished for him.

"Well, I guess. So?"

Bunny seemed to be understanding what North was getting at, and nodded along.

"It is odd North but the kid said she had the gold Sand, and we saw it go to Sandy, couldn't she just be using that?" Jack caught on.

"Do you think she does what pitch does and…. kind of melts? You can't just say that." Jack started but was cut off by north.

"Can and am! We do not know what she can do Jack, she may be da-"

"No! You haven't even met her! God, why are you guys so quick to judge people!" Jack yelled, standing up from the window sill.

"We are not!" Bunny yelled, and was shocked at the look on Jack's face.

"I am well aware of how quick you are _all_ to judge." Jack said as flatly as he could. It was a strange tone of voice coming from the young boy. They had never discussed the suspected betrayal. Jack had no idea of where there trust was, and how much of it was in him.

They were joint then by Toothiana and Sandy, who felt the tense air in the room immediately. Tooth nervously sat in her own seat, while Sandy floated nearby. The small golden man noticed that Jack's hands were on his staff, holding it so tight his already white knuckles seemed to be paling under his skin. Jack saw Sandy, and wanted the discussion to end. He remembered how mad the Guardian of Dreams had been when he found out about him being told to leave, and didn't wish for it to be spoken about.

Toothiana was oddly quiet; normally she would flutter from room to room, checking on the elves and yetis as well as the guardians. Today she was still in her seat.

"Tooth, you okay?" Jack asked, hoping to lead the conversation else where.

"O-oh yes, I'm fine Jack just a long night." She tried to end it, but the others encouraged her to talk about what was on her mind. "Some fairies were having problems finding a tooth. Baby Tooth came back so afraid, screeching about Pitch being back and so I went to scout and… it wasn't Pitch, thank goodness."

Jack felt his muscles relax; it had only been a few months since Pitch's defeat. He wanted a little more time to rest after it. He nodded, making sure Tooth was okay to carry on.

"The house was… there was nothing left. 'Accidental' they kept saying, those adults. The children were frightened and… gosh it had all burnt. It's summer where they were and the air was just too hot, the home isa a pile of this awful black ash and we can't find their teeth, anywhere! How are we going to help them now, when they need memories more than anyt-" Tooth had started to flutter about nervously.

Two little tooth fairies flew into the room, carrying a small leather pouch tied with string. Tooth looked at her fairies,with worry and confusion. "Girls what is that!"  
Tooth and her fairies chattered in soft bird noises, and Tooth let out a happy shriek. She spun a few times, making loops in the air, before telling the fairies to hurry back to the Palace straight away! Get some boxes ready, the cildren will need them soon. She then spun and hugged Sandy as hard as her arms could.

"Oh Sandy! Thank you! I can't believe you found the teeth!" She said, smiling at the little man, who formed a question mark over his head.

"The fairies said they found the bag this morning, hanging on a piece of wood that hadn't fallen yet. They said it had dream sand in the bag! Teeth and dream sand!" Tooth was smiling, but Sandy was still as confused as ever. Tooth's spirits had evidently been lifted as she began to chatter about her day, and the children from the house.

"You didn't do it, did you Sandy?' Jack asked, finally. He had been quiet while the others spoke. Sandy shook his head, signalling that he had not infact, aided in finding the teeth. Sandy looked at Jack, making a question mark from his sand.

"Nothing, it's nothing." Jack waved his hand, and relaxd back into his seat. He had curled up into a plush armchair at some point, he wasn't sure when. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the other's conversation. He wasn't mad; he wasn't sure what he was.


	4. Chapter 4 -A Story That Hasn't Ended Yet

_**Thank you to everyone who has read the word vomit that has made up this story so far. There's no real plan for this, just whatever I throw onto the page. Comments and feedback always welcome!**_

 **Chapter Four**

 _ **A Story That Hasn't Ended Yet**_

The Christmas Eve run had been completed in record time according to North, with Jack's helping hand. It would be the snowiest, most enjoyable Christmas the children of the world would enjoy. Jack was careful not to bring his gift to those who spent Christmas in the warmer months; a gesture appreciated by the Summer Spirit. The pair made it back to the workshop and began the job of lowering the sleigh back into it's holding bay. They hovered a few minutes more than they would, enjoying the cold air.

"A good Christmas this year, eh Jack?" North asked, proud of the two of them. Jack was distracted, staring ahead of them. North was not pleased at being ignored by the winter spirit and went to nudge Jack with his hand.

"Why is she here?" Jack asked, standing from his seat but staying in the sleigh. On the roof of the North Pole's large dome, stood the figure. Red hair loose and wild in the cold wind Jack had brought back with them. Her green cloak was half open, showing tattered leather clothing beneath. Her arms were outstretched, set in a perfect pose with her bow in hand. An arrow was notched and ready, the tip of it glittering gold in the dark. Jack and North watched, and North decided as it was his home, he would introduce himself.

"Hello friend! Why you at pole?" North asked.

The arrow flew from the bow with a simple movement of her finger; sending the arrow on a straight course.

"No!" Jack yelled as he grabbed his staff from the seat of the sleigh. He pulled the staff upwards, pulling a wall of ice behind it. He could've sworn the arrow sped up as it shot over the top of the wall, barely missing the solid wall of ice he had created. Then he heard it. It was a sound he hadn't heard in months but he recognised it at once, as did North. The sound screeched behind them and when they turned, they already knew what they would see behind them. They only glimpsed the large Nightmare that had raised it's hooves above them, before the arrow shot through chest of the creature.  
The arrow sailed through the animal's body, only stopping once it was inside the animal's stomach. The Nightmare gave out a pained, angry whinny as it began to rear down onto the sleigh. Seconds before it's feet would have struck the sleigh, the arrow burst into a painfully bright cloud of dream sand.

North and Jack covered their eyes with their arms, and heard the pained shriek of the Nightmare as it shrunk, and fell into a cloud of black sand. The cloud of golden sand seemed to grow in size, but Jack realised it was spreading. The gold quickly replaced the black sand as the cloud floated above their heads. The sand floated, then shook and flew off into the night air; on it's way to find Sandy. North and Jack blinked, letting their eyes get used to the dark skies again before they turned back to the girl. They were both surprised when they saw her still standing there.

"You found them, didn't you!?"Jack yelled, bringing his wind to a steady breeze so she could hear him. She was facing away from them, looking over the side of the building. It was the buildings tallest side, standing high over the crevice in the ice where North had built it centuries ago. Jack had jumped from the sleigh and was walking towards her slowly, when she began to run. Jack picked up his pace, unsure what was going on. In seconds she had reached the edge; where she threw herself off the edge, into the air, without a moment of hesitation. Jack's instincts kicked in and he felt himself shoot into the air, rushing towards the person who now falling through the sky. It all felt slow again; he was beginning to hate the feeling.

She was still falling, with Jack was falling after her, more controlled, and almost as quick. She had some distance but he was closing slowly. He watched the girl's arm reach out, throw a small handful of golden dust that hit the ground. The snow seemedto fall away as a hole made of golden sand opened up and swallowed the girl. Jack blinked, and managed to slow himself enough that crashing into the snowy ground didn't hurt. Not too much. He looked around at the blank, empty snow. He kicked at the snow, and swiped it away with his staff in desperate attempts to find the body he was sure was there. The portal had simply vlosed up, leaving no trace it was ever there.

It was some time later he was back in the North Pole, and a fewminutes after that where he found the other guardians. North was busy explaining what had happened when he saw Jack walk in. Jack lowered himself into a chair; sore from colliding with the ground. _A controlled crash._ He told himself.

Tooth was getting ready to fret; Jack shot her a smile. Jack might wave her off majority of the time, but her need to mother him was nice. Sometimes he didn't need it, sometimes he did. He wasn't sure this time.

"She is gone?" North asked, obviously worried.

"Gone. Fell into a big hole made of dream sand." Jack said, explaining what he had seen.

"Thank god you weren't hurt Jack! Gosh what ifyou had gone through it,or hit the ground!" Tooth was fretting. Jack smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Tooth,really, I'm fine. Wasn't graceful but I managed to pull myself up in time. They're attention was brought to Bunny.

"Are we ignoring the flamin' fact that a NIGHTMARE that nearly snuck upon you both, on christmas morning!?" He was beside himself at how much they _weren't_ worrying. Jack looked over, and laughed at the site of North's desk behind Bunny.

It was piled high with books and scrolls, many in languages he didn't know, and some he didn't think were real. North sat back at his desk, smiling at the boy.

"North thought we might find something in the old books." Tooth said, gesturing at everything on the table. North was currently looking at the largest book of the lot. Thick, with a heavy white cover on the outside, the book looked about as old as the man reading it.

North was apparently frustrated. " Is nothing in book! Like she don't exist, yet we saw her on roof!" The man half shouted, motioning to slam the book shut. Jack reached over quickly, and grabbed the book. He spun the book to face him and was marvelled by the pages as he flicked through. Sketches and small paragraphs detailing the journey of the four guardians and the man in the moon were laid out over hundreds of pages of thick paper. Jack turned the page again, and was greeted by blank paper. He smiled, albeit weakly, as he closed the book. In the movement, the empty page seemed to shimmer in the light. Jack opened the book again and saw that the edges of the page had actually been decorated with tiny snowflakes.  
The door opened behind themas Phil the yeti walked in to talk to North. The yeti saw jack with the book and began shouting at North in the language he shared with his yetis. Phil raced over and grabbed te book from Jack, who tried to grab it back. Phil left in a huff, mumbling angrily to himself.

"Uhhh, that was…" Jack began.

"Oh great, a grumpy yeti."North moaned to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his finger tips. "Phil is one who made book. Was getting ready to do your pages, was ehh, meant to be surprise." North added the last part a little quietly. He was sad the boy had seen an empty page, when he deserved as many pages as the others combined.  
Jack was looking around the room, in odd wonder. He'd never really taken it all in before. It was North's library, and toy test area. Small wooden planes hung over head; a project long forgotten by North.

The night went on, and after the guardians had enjoyed their own private christmas morning, they seperated. Bunny had a warren to check on, Tooth wanted to check on her fairies and Sandy was always busy doing something, somewhere in the world. Eventually it was just Jack and North sitting in the study. North was busy with something at his desk and Jack had draped himself over a beam in the roof, watching North work, when Phil opened the door slowly and peeked in, and checked the room. He mumbled to North and received a soft wave of a hand in return. Phil quickly walked in and placed the book on the couch beneath Jack; he had wrapped a blue ribbon around the book. Phil gave North a wave and left the room again; the open door letting in the sounds of a yeti christmas party. Jack dropped softly onto the floor next to the couch and picked the book up gently. His hands were shaking as he pulled the ribbon off and opened the cover of the book and settled into the couch it had been sitting on. Jack hurredly flicked through the pages until he turned them, and saw the pages that had been added.

Phil had added a detailed drawing of Jack beneath the ice on the first page, the water on the pages seemed to shift as Jack took in the page, then moved to the next.  
It was Jack rising up through the crack in the ice, and his staff on the still frozen ice in front of him. This continued on, as Jack read through the last 300 years of his own life. The final page was Jack, staff in hand, smiling as he held a smiling Jamie on his shoulders. Jack closed the book and felt the tears on his face. They were cold and wet but they felt surprisingly good.

"Maybe I am one of them." He whispered to himself as he stared down at the cover of the book.


	5. Chapter 5 - Nightmares and Paddlepops

**Chapter 5**

 _ **Nightmares and Paddlepops**_

It was the weekend before easter, when the alarms went off. The globe room was flashing red, and a series of sirens overhead were filling the room with painfully loud noises. North burst into the room from his study and asked the globe what was happening. A single light on the globe was lit up red, flashing in time with the other lights in the room. North's eyes widened in panic, and yelled out for a snowglobe immediately. The yeti's were in a state of panic but still managed to bring him his hat, coat and a globe in a matter of seconds. North threw the globe to the ground as soon as it was in his hand, and threw himself into the portal that had opened.  
When North landed in the street Jamie lived on, he looked up and down the street for the danger but did not see any nearby. A few minutes later the other guardians arrived and joined North in the hunt for danger. They eventually came to Jamie's houses and stared in horror at the roof of the house. Jack and Jamie were on the roof, surrounded by a swarm of horrid things seemed to have formed a circle around the two boys. The guardians leapt at one of Jamie's paniced shouts, and flew into action.  
They were expecting an easy fight but didn't get it; the nightmares seemed to form back as soon as they were destroyed. A chorus of mocking whinnies came from the cloud of black sand as it shifted around them.

"Jamie, Jamie come on man you gotta be brave. Like last time, you got us through that." Jack said, holding the young boys shoulders tight. He wanted to shoot up into the air, and take the boy with him but he was sure the creatures would snatch him back if he tried. They seemed strong and far angier than they were last time, they were keeping the other guardians busier than Jack thought they might. Jack spotted something overhead and quickly turned Jamie to face it.

"See Jamie, look there; it's a shooting star. Make a wish."

"A wish? Jack this isn't the time!" Jamie yelled at Jack, trembling in the spirit's arms.

"Always time for a wish Jamie, anything you want." Jack said, his voice calm, hiding the desire to destroy each creature around him and Jamie. Reluctantly, Jamie closed his eyes tight and stood like that for a few moments as the noises of battle surrounded him. Something behind Jamie's eyelids caught his attention, and he opened his eyes again.

"Man that's a really bright star Jack." Jamie said.

Jack turned to see that the star was in fact very bright, brighter than it had been a few moments ago. It was also much, much closer. Jack moved himself in front of Jamie, facing the star, as if it would help protect the child.

"Jack what's going on?!" he heard one of the others shout to him. Jack couldn't speak.

One of them, it sounded like Bunny, let out a pained shout which was followed by the sound of a pleased whinny. They had hurt one of the guardians; Jack didn't know how badly. God he wanted to check, he wanted to know what was happening.

"Jack it's so bright now, it kind of hurts to look at." Jack had half forgotten Jamie was there, his thoughts were torn. Jack was watching it now, properly looking at the shape growing in front of them. Jack watched the figure grow larger as she sped closer and closer to them.

"Jamie!" Jack shouted and he tightened his grip on the boy, pulling him close and down to the ground. Jack slammed the end of his staff into the roof, pulling a dome of ice up and over them. The ice grew silently, and blurred the light that had become so incredibly bright.

"Blimey mate…" Bunny was on the ground, where Tooth was checking him over. He had been thrown hard into the ground by one of the nightmares. Bunny was staring up at the roof, watching the light grow above them. The other guardians had also come to a halt to watch what was happening. The girl slowed, and almost seem to hover as she got closer to the house; she was surrounded by a shifting spehere of bright light.

"But that's…" North started to speak, but could not finish his sentence. The nightmares had too noticed the light and were whinnying at it angrily, preparing to attack. The girl pulled back on her string and focused her aim. _Straight and true; until now and forever._ The arrow shot out from it's string and flew into the crowd of whinnying nightmares.

"Jack's up there!" Tooth shouted. "What if she hurts him?!"

The arrow struck the dome of ice and exploded into a cloud of golden sand. The guardians outside of the dome watched in shocked awe as the cloud of golden sand billowed out and swallowed the nightmares where they were. As if sucked out of the very air, they began to fade until there was simply a cloud of brilliant golden sand floating above and surrounding where the dome had been.  
The dome had shattered when it was struck. Jack had tried his hardest to keep it strong but it didn't seem to help; the ice shattered and fell into a circle around him and Jamie. The sand eventually fell onto the roof, as well as the guardians and Jamie. Sandy used the moment as a chance to send Jamie to sleep; the boy was going to need to rest. Jack felt Jamie go limp in his arms, as the two huddled on the ground. He panickd until he heard the boy mumble and shook his head. He slowly and as gently as possible, climbed into the house and placed Jamie back into bed. The boy grumbled in his sleep but his face was soft and a small smile was on his young face, and Jack took it as a sign that Jamie was having good dreams.

Jack climbed out of the window, to find the other guardians on the road in a circle. He joined the others, flying down to the group. He saw the mess of green fabric and red hair in a pile in the street and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

Tooth was kneeling next to the body, checking it over in a rush. Bunny was nearby, sitting but seemed to be more or less okay. Jack heard a snowglobe smash into the road, and felt the portal open under them. He felt them fall through, and land back in the North Pole. What he didn't feel, or hear was Tooth rushing over to wrap him in her arms in a hug he could only describe as motherly. The sudden touch shocked Jack out of his thoughts and he settled into Tooth's hold.

"Oh Jack, what happened! We- we only got notified by North's lights!" Tooth was fretting now, and let go of Jack, who brushed his clothes off. North turned to Phil when Tooth wasn't looking and gave a small wave; North had forgotten the lights in his rush, and was grateful the yeti had thought to flick them on.

"I-I was just checking on the bed, and thought I'd check over the town, I haven't been through in a few weeks." Jack tried to explain away. Bunnymund was not convinced.

"Easter is awfully close mate, what you playin' at?" The pooka questioned as he stood up. Jack always forgot how truly _tall_ Bunnymund was. Jack wasn't afraid of Bunny anymore, but he was quite tall, and a lot more powerful than Jack.

"Come on Frosty, spit it out!" Bunny was still watching Jack; who was now taking slow steps away. He felt his pocket shift on his hoodie, and tried to catch the objects as they fell from the fabric. Bunny caught them instead, and stared at jack for a moment before turning his eyes to the small objects he was now holding. In his paw were two, smaller than normal easter eggs; dyed blue, with small spirals and snowflakes painted on in white. The blue was a perfect match to Jack's hoodie.  
Bunnymund looked at Jack, ready to talk but Jack was already going.

"I didn't mean anything by it! I just… you had that little bucket of eggs you didn't think would be big enough and… I just thought it'd be a silly thing for Jamie and Sophie is all. I-" Jack was cut off by Bunny managing to get a word in.

"You can use the normal eggs mate, I'm not gonna run out." Bunny's words slapped jack over the face; that's not what he was expecting. Bunny smiled at Jack and placed the eggs into a basket that was on a table nearby. "I'll make sure they get them." Bunny added, before hopping from the room with the basket. He cast a worried glance over at the couch nearby, before he was gone. Jack's eyes moved from where Bunny had just been and settled on the person who had been placed on the couch. Her cloak had been placed nearby on a chair, and her hair tied back with some ribbon that a yeti had found in the workshop. The girl was slender, her bones practically sticking out from under her skin. Herhair had been knotted into a mess; which Toothiana had carefully brushed out before tying it up. Her skin was fair but not nearly asbad ad Jack's; afew freckles spotted her cheeks and nose. She didn't move, not even a whimper in her apparent sleep. Jack turned back to the others, face showing how he was feeling. Worried.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It was after the nightmares had vanished. You'd already climbed back in with Jamie, she was still sort of floating overhead. She wasn't moving, just kind of floating there, and she just… fell." Tooth said, hovering over to the couch. Jack noticed that Baby Tooth was nearby as well, hovering bewteen him and the girl on the couch. She couldn't seemto decide on who to sit with; she eventually settled on the girl's shoulder. She cast a sorrowful look over to Jack, hoping her favourite boy wouldn't be upset. Jack gave a smile back, hoping it showed that it was fine. Phil the yeti joind them for a moment, carefully laying a large blanket over the girl, making sure not to bother Baby Tooth, and left the group alone again. Phil was busy in the workshop and couldn't spare too much time. It was North who evenntualy broke the silence the group had fallen into.

"So we have girl – who is girl?" He asked, clapping his hands together. Nobody had an answer for him.

Sandy had joined the group and was busy throwing up shapes and symbols in his sand. A bow, an arrow, a star, then one of a horse. The horse reared then exploded into a small cloud of sand. Jack watched, nodding along the whole time.

"It's your sand! How you not know?" North asked Sandy, who simply shrugged at the question. Sandy was the oldest of the guardians but that didn't mean he had all the answers, which the others seemed to forget. They all settled into silence again and remained like that; for the next few hours. None of them wanted to leave, but they eventually drifted to another room. Sandy and North settled into a game of chess, Tooth was busy reading over some books and Bunny eventually joined them later on, and settled hmself down into a chair after watching the game of chess for a short while. Jack was hanging by his legs from the beam in the roof again, letting himself fall into his thoughts. It all felt too familiar, yet so distant at the same time. There was a thought somewhere in his head that he couldn't quite grasp; it was highly frustrating to the young winter spirit.

The silence of the room was interrupted by a crash, and two shouts from the other room; one higher pitched than the other. The guardians rushed from the room, knocking the game of chess askew in their panic. The scene was one of they weren't expecting. Phil the yeti was standing near the couch where the girl had been laying, and the girl was now on the ground, leaning back into the nightstand that was next to the couch. It had fallen onto it's side, scattering the small objects that had been perching on top of the small table. Her eyes were steady on Phil, a mixture of fight and flight; she hadn't yet decided what way to go. A soft squeak was in the air as well, and Tooth began to panic as she recognised the sound.

"Where is she?!" The Tooth fairy asked to the quiet room.

This caught the girl's attention,who's eyes shot to the group of guardians, then to her hand. She slowly lifted her hand, revealing the small fairy that was beneath it. She blinked a few time as Baby Tooth buzzed her wings a few times and slowly lifted off the ground.

"What the heck are you?" The girl asked, eyes on the fairy. Baby Tooth gave a few pointed squeaks to the girl, and flew back to Jack's hoodie pocket.

"Baby Tooth, don't be so rude! She didn't know you were there." Toothiana scolded baby Tooth, her voice becoming more motherly as she spoke. The small fairy gave a few quieter squeaks, but still buried herself into the pocket. Tooth could only shake her head before turning her attention to the girl on the floor. Phil was chattering quickly to North; his voice panicked.

"Relax friend! Girl is fine, little fall. Is okay!" North tried to calm his top yeti, who refused to calm down. North lead Phil to another room, and returned a few seconds later. "Yetis, eh?" he said, with a chuckle.

Jack was standing with the girl now, offering a hand to help her up. The girl looked at the hand, shook her head and began to push herself off the floor.

"No offense paddle-pop but I'm not much a fan of the cold." She spoke, her voice tense. She managed to get to her body up and onto her feet, and brushed herself off.

Bunny was the only one who laughed at the nickname; the others looked at him with confusion plastered over their faces, Jack especially.

"It, oh don't worry, it's a good name for ya Frosty." Bunny tried to reassure the winter spirit, as he wiped an amused tear from his eye. Jack looked over at Tooth and Sandy, who in a conversation. Sandy was showing images; a bag, fairies, teeth and the girl. Tooth let out a shocked shriek, and brought her hands to her mouth.

"She got them?!" She asked.

"Tooth we discussed this when it happened." Jack said, trying to remember if Tooth had even been a part of that conversation. He felt Baby Tooth leave his pocket and saw her float her way back over to the girl, landing on the arm of the couch next to her. She gave a little chirp, that Jack could tell was friendly.

"She says thank you." Toothiana explained, her hands nervously rubbing together in front of her. "And, so do I." She added.

The girl looked at Baby Tooth then Toothiana and shook her head, looking at the ground.

"It's fine." She didn't want to discuss it. The others didn't feel the same.

'Fine? None of this is fine! You fell from out of the bloomin' sky, we saw it!"Bunny was getting worked up and hopped closer to the girl.

"Hey I'm fine aren't I? I didn't die, did I?" She sat herself on the arm of the chair, being careful not to knock Baby Tooth off.

"Well you already did that, I'd be confused if you did again." Jack said, trying to diffuse the situation.

The girl let out an almost mocking laugh and kept her eyes on the small fairy who was now sitting on her knee.

"I certainly did not, paddle-pop." She said, not looking at any of them. 

The group looked at her, full of shock and awe. It's true, Jack was the only one of them who had died before becoming a Guardian but that was the regular method of someone joining their world. They all looked at one another, wondering what to say or do next. Phil shuffled back in, placed a wrapped gfit on the couch and hurried away again. North laughed and gestured to the gift.

"Believe is for you!" He laughed, looking at the girl.

She blinked and stared at the package taking it in; it was wrapped in green and red paper, gold ribbon wrapped tightly around it. North had to give it to Phil; his wrapping was by far the best. The girl made no movement towards the gift, however, Baby Tooth did. The small fairy flew over to the gift and gripped a corner of it, trying to pull it over to the girl, with no success. The girl shook her head and reached over, grabbing the gift.

"You'll hurt yourself doing that." She muttered, as she pulled the package onto her lap. A gold light seemed to reosnate from within the paper, casting a strange light from within the gift. With trembling hands, she pulled the paper away to reveal her bow, sitting in her lap. The wood was polished, with markings in a language none of them knew, glowing along the main part of the wood. The ends of the wood were sharp, both glowing gold. She stared at the bow, then laughed. It was hardly a bright laugh but it was better than what they had heard from her so far.

"They cleaned it?" She asked, half laughing to herself. It was true; the wood all but sparkledfrom the polishing it had been given. The markings hadn't been so bright in a long time. She stood up and held the bow in her hands, carefully pulling back on the empty string. It felt new, and tight. It felt good to hold and she hoped she'd be able to apologise to the yeti fellow for startling him. He hadn't meant to frighten her, he just happened to be there when she woke up. She looked at North and smirked.

"Is this my christmas gift then?" Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and the string pulled back tighter. "Merry belated Christmas, I suppose." She moved the arrow upwards and let go of the string. Nothing happened. She frowned at the space of ceiling above her; it was undamaged. It hadn't worked. She let out a sigh, and looked at Sandy.

"Sorry." She said, holding out a hand. A thin tendil of sand floated from Sandy's cloud to her hand, where it settled in a tidy pile. She threw her hand out, and the sand flicked out like one of Sandy's whips, only it was shorter and thicker. Much shorter. The sand shook in her hand, until the line of sand became solid and slowly morphed it's shape into that of an arrow. The body of the arrow changed, until the only part remaining as sand was the head of the arrow, the rest became a wooden shaft, that was a deep brown, almost black in colour. All of the guardians watched, feeling something they hadn't for a long time. Awe, and horror. Someone else who could not only use the sand but also someone who could control it; who could shape it. Sandy's feeling were not quite as horrified and he quickly formed his sand into shapes above him. The same shapes that were glowing on her bow. The odd shapes were followed by a question mark.

"Not sure what to tell you, I can't read em. Apparently they were something but I can't remember what anymore." She said, her voice soft. She was pulling the new arrow into the string, notching it carefully. It felt right, as if it was meant to be there. Jack watched, and spoke without thinking.

"Your name." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could hold them back.

She smiled, an odd smile that was very familiar. Her hands were quick; she had raised and shot the arrow before the others could register it happening. The arrow was dead straight for Baby Tooth, who had moved over to the guardians, and was floating overhead. Jack managed to bring his staff up just in time to knock the arrow off course. Rather than diverting, the arrow simply exploded into a small cloud of sand, that fell to the floor.

He looked at her in horror and was greeted with a smile he knew too well.

"You're quick, paddle-pop" She said, her hands holding the bow in front of her, relaxing it in her hand


	6. Chapter 6 - Keep Your Windows Shut

**Chapter 6**

 **Keep Your Windows Shut**

The next few days dragged on for the girl but flew by in a rush for the Guardians. North had the yetis set up a room for their guest; who very much did not want to stay any longer. North insisted on her staying since the weather outside was simply too dangerous. Angry winds battered against the windows of the North Pole, threatening to break in and freeze everything where it was. Each time she looked out of the windows of her new room, she scowled at the wind and snow. She wanted to leave, she hatd being in amongst all these people, all this noise. At that moment, something outside smashed into the floor outside of her room and she heard the panicing footsteps of yetis as they raced to fix what had happened. The door wasn't locked; she was told she was welcome to explore as she liked, or join them if she wanted to. She did _not_ want to do either of those things; she wanted to leave.

"Jack Frost!" She heard North yell, as if he was trying to catch a toddler. It was followed by a child's laughter. _Almost a child._ She thought to herself. Jack Frost was the current thorn in her side; one she wanted to rip out, from herself and the plant it grew from.

"Why him? Why here?" North shouted again, followed by another laugh. No, that laugh was Jack Frost. Who on earth was the first one from? Who was here that North was so against, yet Jack was thrilled by? She laid down onto her bed and buried her face into the pillow. Hoping if she slept, she'd be closer to leaving. The laughter and crashing continued outside of her room, until it dug it's way deep enough into her head that curiousity got the better of her, and she got up and walked to the door. She turned the doorknob, silently surpised it was actually unlocked, and stepped out into the main area of the North Pole. She still hadn't used to the brightness of the place but, enjoyed how generally warm it was inside. Jack was hanging from a beam, holding a young boy upside down.

"Oh!" Jack let out, dropping himself and the boy to the ground, where they landed softly. North walked over, ready to grab them both.

"Jamie, I want you to meet someone." Jack waved his arms at her, looking from Jamie to her, and back.

"Who? Is there another guardian?" The boy, apparently called jamie, was practically hopping with excitement.

"She's here, right in front of you Jamie." Jack said, eyes on Jamie still, until he moved behind the boy and held his head straight, looking at her.

"Jack, who is it?" Jamie asked again, and she saw Jack's face fall. North's as well. She was a little confused by their reactions. Jack knelt in front of Jamie, grabbing the boy's arms.

"Jamie, this isn't funny, and it's not nice." Jack sounded almost like a parent, or an older brother to the boy.

"Jack…I don't think he can." North said, resting a hand on Jack's shoulder. What were they all talking about? She was ready to go back to bed, and sleep, until she was told she could go back to normal life. Jamie headed off, escorted home by Phil the yeti. Jamie seemed to like Phil; he was good for climbing on. North waved to another room, and the other guardians filtered in one by one, confused by North calling their attention.

"Problem mate?" Bunny asked.

"Seems problem, yes." North looked at Bunny, then let his eyes fall back on Jack. "Jack, Jamie would not joke."

She was annoyed at this mess of people in front of her; tired and annoyed. She felt something inside of her rise up, which she squished back down before she lashed out. _That wouldn't do much for lessening your stay._ She told herself off, turning away from them, to go back into her room.

"Why can't he see you." It was Jack. It was not a question, more of him talking to himself. She turned back to face him, hand on the doorway still.

"Why would he?"

"You saved him."

"I did my job." She stated; there was nothing else to it.

"What exactly is job?"North asked her.

She pointed up, out of the glass dome of a roof, and at the moon. "Ask him." She said plainly, before going back to her room and closing the door. She looked out of the window, at the still swirling storm, and felt that same sensation. It rose up from her stomach, heating her body as it went. It was a painful, sickly feeling that she hated whenever it happened. She felt hot, too hot, too warm, and too trapped. She marched over to the window and grabbed the two handles. She pushed, forcing them open despite the wind. They had almost been fozen together by the snow and ice collecting between the shutters, but the force had shattered it. The room filled with cold air she couldn't feel, and she threw herself out of the open window, into the swirling, angry wind and snow. She knew he was doing it, she knew they had asked him to. How would she travel amongst such harsh winds? She couldn't they had guessed, or wouldn't, they hoped. She let herself fall towards the snowy ground. She flung the smallest handful of dust, just enough for her to catch and ride down to the ground, where she jumped to her feet and stood amongst the deep snow. The air was cold, biting at her skin, her eyes and lips. She barely felt it over how painfully warm she was. It was an awful feeling, one she had controlled for such a long time. On her own, without anyone causing it to swell. It burned her throat, and she let out a frustrated yell; half a yell and half a scream, into the air. The cold rushed down her throat and cooled the burning, for a second. She felt the heat burning at her fngers; warm, hot, feeling like they'd easily melt the snow falling against her. She flicked her hand outwards, away from her body, and felt the heat follow. Sand moved from a pocket on her pants, carrying up her arm and flicking out like a whip. She had seen the Sandman do it before, and practised and taught herself the same, until it was enough. The whip cracked through the snow and struck the ice wall in front of her. The whip cracked and snapped as it hit the ice, shattering back into grains of sand that fell into the snow. They would travel back to Sandy eventually.

She felt the heat drain away, to reveal how truly cold it was outside it was. Her skin hurt from the ice she wassure was forming along it. Her eyes stung from the cold air, and her lips were surely blue. Her eyes found the ice wall and she took it in; a long gash in the side of the ice, deep and angry, sand still stuck in the small crevices that had splinted out from the larger mark. She fet the cold holding her, threatening to crush her if it could, and she felt her eyes droop. The heat was gone, leaving her cold and exposed to what was really happening outside. She fell, hitting the snow as her body gave in.

Bunny noticed the cold. "Frostbite, you said you'd keep it outdoors!" Bunny yelled out for the winter spirit.

"It is! I'm not that stupid, thank you, kangaroo." The spirit shot back from his chair in the main area.

Bunny stood and hopped out of the room, hunting for the source of the cold. He found it, creeping in under the door to their new guests room. He huffed,ready to tell off the boy for making the girl's room so cold. He pushed the door open and yelled for the others, who rushed to his side. Jack dropped down, and ducked under Bunny's arm so that he could step into the room. He gasp at the wide open windows, and the ice and snow that had begun to creep in through the opening.

"Where is she? She can't be out there!" Tooth said, looking at the window. Jack leant on the bed and peered out of the window, looking for _anything_ that might show where she had gone.

"The entire point of the storm was to keep her in!" Tooth continued, her voicebecome motherly again. Jack pulled himself onto the windowsill and looked outside into the blizzard. It had ongoing, draining him for days now. He felt it odd to be trying to keep her trapped, when he wanted to get out so badly the first time he had been at the Pole, brought in the others.

"Jack we-" Tooth looked at Jack, practically reading his thoughts.

"This is different, I was't injured. I didn't just… I wasn't in a bad way." He looked out at the storm and gripped his staff tightly. The window tried to argue but soon slowed, until it was still. The last few snowflakes fell, until the air was still and clear again. Then he shot out, flying off into the air, searching. He was frantic but kept himself controlled and calm, for the most part. It wouldn't help anyone if he began to panic outwardly.

At last he spotted the red amongst the white landscape, and dropped down from the sky. He grabbed the girl as carefully as he could, silently apologising for how cold his hands would be, and flew back as fast as the wind would take him. It seemed to know something was wrong and made the journey as smooth as it could. Jack whispered a thank you to the wind as he carried her back inside, hoping she wasn't too badly damagedby the storm. He had seen the ice wall, but decided not to mention it to the others yet. The others helped him bring her in, and moved her to a new room North had gotten prepared. This room was miles warmer than the rest of the North Pole; a temperature Bunny could get used to. The girl was settled into the new bed, covered in blankets,and was left with North and Tooth to begin their work checking her over, and warming her safely. They took turns sitting in the room once the two were finished, roating bewteen the five guardians. Sandy and Tooth took shorter sifts, due to their work not really having a quiet period. Jack was in the room when she first stirred. It was a quiet mumble, then another, then silence. She shot up in her bed, breathing heavily and frantic, looking around the room. Her eyes settled on Jack, and the panic faded.

"Oh." She let out.

Jack stood, leaving his staff next to where had been sitting.

"Hey-" he started.

"Oh, why am I back here?" She moaned, rubbing her face with her hands. She was surprised when she felt her fingetips touch her skin; convinced they would have somehow been lost to frostbite. She let out an odd laugh, and a hiccup and looked at Jack.

"What is it that the rabbit calls you?" She asked.

"Snowflake? Frosty?" he asked, not following.

"No, not those."

 _Oh_. "Uh, frostbite?" He asked again. She gave a small nod.

"Yeah, that. Glad not everyone lives up to their name then." She pulled the blankets closer to her chin as she sat up in bed feeling her muscles strain as she did. 'Didn't mean to hurt you if I did, Frostbite." She said, looking at Jack with an odd expression. He looked back with one, though more uncomfortable.

"it's not so much a uhh nickname, as- what do you mean hurt me?" he asked, bewildered, she was the one he'd plucked up out of the snow. "Do you mean the ice?"

She watched him, her eyes taking in his expression. "Do you not like the name?" She asked, seemingly innocently, wanting to avoid talking about the ice, wishing she hadn't said anything. He shrugged.

"It's like a parent using a full nane, it's for when I'm in trouble I guess. Frosbite isn't… something I particularly enjoyed learning about." He sat back in his chair, not wanting her to feel more annoyed by his presence than she had to. She nodded, relaxing her grip on the blankets.

"I'm not much of a fan of the cold. Had enough of it is a kid I guess. Never experienced frostbite though, knew a few people who did." Jack stared at her, waiting for theblame, the shouting. "It's a part of the season, it's to be expexcted. Every season has it's dangers, spirits can't account for the people who won't keep themselves safe from them." She didn't look at Jack as she sat up taller in the bed, pushing the blankets down.

"It's… I mean I guess but-" Jack couldn't explain it.

"You got the short end, having the seasons people seem to view as dangerous. Frost can kill crops, animals, kids." Jack felt it, he was ready, as always. "So can heat though, so can certain plants, or animals." She said, knowing how true it was.

"My Mum really liked winter; there was a certain flower that only grew after the frost that she loved. I liked summer I guess, I liked swimming in the lake."She was sitting up now, her legs folded over one another. The two were silent for a moment, before Jack spoke.

"What happened?" He asked, wanting answer but not wanting to push.

"With what, Frosty?" She asked, looking over at him.

"The ice wall. It looked… damaged." He wanted to say wounded, like a huge gash had been cut into the wall of frozen water. She looked away, staring out of the window that sat next to this bed as well. It was a normal solid window, with no doors that opened.

"It was the only room left." Jack wanted to explain. She shrugged it off.

"It'd be fair, either way. I wasn't sure if you felt it."

"The ice? If I felt pain anytime ice broke apart I'd hate icebergs." He said, smiling without thinking. "It's fine, really." The questions burned in his throat. He wanted to know everything. "We were worried you were injured, you had a-" That did it, she shot her eyes at Jack, staring into him.

"Had a _what,_ Frostbite?" She all but hissed.

"You had some marks on your arms we weren't sure what-"

She stood from the bed, unexpectedly stable on her feet, and headed for the door. Jack jumped up without thinking and stood in front of the door. A bad idea he thought once he'd done it; blocking the only exit. He knew it wouldn't help, it never did. The shouting was only then, apparent. He heard the other selling, not aware that they'd gathered. He opened the door to leave, and felt her push past him. He sighed and followed her out to the noise. The guardians seemed to be arguing over something, though the two of them weren't sure what. Jack joined the group, while the girl stood back. She looked at Phil, asking with her eyes, _What on earth?_ Phil shrugged his shoulders, apparently unsure what was happening. She leant against a pillar of wood nearby and watching the group. Jack had joint in as well, and was apparently quite easy to rile up. _Manny._ The name caught her attention and she looked at North, who had said it. Sandman was on the other side of the group, and noticed her, giving small wave. A question mark popped up. She gave a thumbs up, signalling she was fine. Sandy gave a smile is response and looked back to his still arguing group if friends. She looked over the group, then above them and saw it. The globe spun slowly, taking up the centre of the huge room. She walked around the group quietly, not wanting to be stopped, and slowly made her way to the globe. Dozens upon dozen, upon dozens of small lights lit up the globe, all over the world. Except one, close to where she was standing. She looked closely at the little blank light, and without thinking, tapped it three times with her finger. As if sensing it, North turned to face her as she fell forwards, catching the globe with her hands to steady herself. She heard them still arguing. _Pitch. Sand. Ice._ The words strung together, and she eventually thought. _Oh, bother._

Her eyes focused on that light again; not even blinking. Dead amongst the other lights. She hadn't noticed North, and turned away from the globe, making her way back to the other room. Her original room, now full of ice and snow tha thhadn't even begun to melt. She knew it wouldn't help things but, she had a job to do. Pulling herself onto the windowsill and pushing the door open gently, she looked down. Had she really jumped out of here before? She looked down, feeling the sand slowly travel up her arm. She wondered if Sandy ever noticed it leaving? She only took handfuls at a time. Did he even know she had been told to? Pushing the thoughts away, she threw the handful of sand out of the window as the door opened behind her.

"North, Jack!" Bunny yelled, as he opened the door, seeing the girl ready to make a repeat of history. She jumped, without hesitation as she heard and felt the Bunny reach out, missing her arm by not even an inch, and she was falling. She could already see the portal and she closed her eyes as she fell, waiting for it to swallow her. The others watched from the window, unsure of what to do. They watche dher fall through, and still watched as the portal shrank and closed in on itself, leaving just a flat bank of snow.

"We must follow." North stated, rushing off to get Sandman, to see if the little man had any ideas. He did.


	7. Chapter 7 - No Friends of Mine

**Chapter 7**

 _ **No Friends of Mine**_

The portal let her out into a field; it was dark and cold, but not painfully so. The air was just chilled, perfect for a campfire; which she was looking at in the distance. The campfire let out a small ring of light, which seemed to be walked forward slowly, feeling how cold the air really was. Just cold; not wet, not ice, just a lack of warmth. There was a family sitting around the campfire; a mother, father and a young child. A girl with long blonde hair, and thick eyelashes that looked out of place on the young girl. The girl seemed nervous, watching the dark, feeling it creeping in. The girl could see the circle of light shrinking, and was beginning to feel the shadows pulling at her, wanting her to run and hide in the tent, where there was no light. Children often hid in their blankets, holding a stuffed toy, hoping it would drive away the darkness. It only fueled what they came in to feed on. The young girl clung onto her mother's arm, who pulled the girl closer and smiled gently.

"it's alright Stacey, there's nothing out here." The mother rubbed her daughter's shoulders, and seemed to help to soothe the girl. The guardians were watching as well, hidden in the shadows of the trees around the campsite. They knew the mother'slove would only help to a degree, it was only so powerful. The young girl, Stacey, looked around, peering into the darkness. She thought she could see something but convinced herself it was shadows, ready to jump out. Jack stepped forward, almost exposing himself to the other spirit but was pulled back by North.

"I told you guys." Bunny mumbled, convinced something about the girl wasn't right. The Guardians could see the light shrinking as well, and the shadows were now practically touching Stacey's feet. She pulled her legs closer, resting her chin on her knees. The father placed a fresh log onto the fire, stirring the embers ever so slightly. Pulling her bow from her back, she notched another arrow, much like the one she had fired at Baby Tooth. The words on the wooden shaft glowed brightly in the black night. The string pulled back steadily, well practiced. The log on the fire shifted, and the arrow fired. The arrow's head was buried into the embers and burst, the tiny grains of sands popping as they hit the hot wood. The parents and girl jumped, startled by the fire.

"Must've been some sap on that one, sorry girls." The man said, rubbing the young girl's shoulder as well. Neither adult noticed as the shadow's almost seemd to scream at the new light, and scambled back to the shadows of the trees. The shadows raced, forming a solid line, and heading for the guardians. They were angry at their stolen meal, and left hungry. A meal of five guardians would be enough for a life time. Another arrow pierced the sky, flying above the heads of the family and struck the ground where the shadows had begun to swarm. The guardians noticed none of this. They had turned their backs, and were busy jumping through a portal on the ground. Tooth and Bunny were busy arguing in whispers. They jumped through, and let the portal close behind them. The arrow left a scattering of golden sand where the shadows had been,which she walked over to. She stood amongst the grains and felt as they floated up, swirling around her feet. She felt the rush of wind and warmth as her body was swallowed up and swept away by the rushing grains. She cried out in success as she flew across the sky, reforming into her regular self, carried alongby the grains of dream sand. She had to check, she had to know it had worked. The flew across the sky, across the world until she felt the biting wind of the arctic air. She saw the open skylight and let the grains of sand swallow her again. She loved the feeling, it was like she was melting.

The grains flew down in a spiral and made their way through the open slightly. The others had already arrived and watchd the sand. Sandy held out his hand and smiled at his sand. He stopped however, when the sand spiralled around him and jumped away to the globe. The sand swirled in a circle around the ground, and the others watched as the sand flew up, leaving the girl standing there. She stumbled forward, her hands grabbing the frame of the globe. She was breathing heavily; her hair had fallen across her face. Her eyes flew over the globe until she found it, she nearly missed it, it looked different when it was all lit up. She ran a finger over the tiny bulb of light.

"I did that." She whispered, staring at the little light bulb. She heard movement behind her, and jumped away before North could touch her. She scowled at the large man, standing straight as she readied herself for whatever was to come.

"Is no threat!" North said, holding both hands away. His palms faced her but she wasn't convinced. "You give startle to old man."

"He's right Sheila, you gave us a scare. We've been looki-" Bunny tried to speak but she laughed. It was a bright laugh, but eerie. Jack knew it too well and he had finally figured out why. _Pitch._ Jack couldn't help but to stare at her and North, standing off against one another. North wanting to help, her unsure of what was happening. Phil had run over, and stood to the side. He didn't want to get in the way but he wanted to know. He had to. He watched her pull the bow from her back, and fumbled to catch it as she carelessly threw it to him. The yeti stared for a second, then raced off before she changed her mind. The yeti was very, very thankful. The guardians were now all staring at the red haired girl. She was no longer laughing, but she had her hands resting behind her head, arms up. Despite the odd laugh, it was good to see her smile. It was warm, it reminded him of when Jamie smiled.

"The bloody thing likes your yeti now." She said, almost in a whine.

North was stunned. "Likes yeti?"

"Hasn't been treated so well in years, he just wants to make sure it's okay." She grinned, it was a warm smile.

"It's a bow." Bunny stated, as if it was obvious. Jack nodded, although it wasn't as sincere. Sure it was a bow but…

She looked at Bunny, then at Jack. Slowly she walked over to the two of them. Her eyes glided over Jack's staff. Jack stood still, a little confused but amused. A yeti in the background yelped at something it had done, and the guardians glanced to the noise. The distraction was enough; she reached out and snatched the staff. Jack immedately felt the wood leave his fingers but was too slow to grab it back as she jumped backwards. Panic boiled inside Jack; last time someone else had touched it, it hadn't gone well. She was gentle though, walking around with it. She spun the wooden staff I her fingers as jumped up onto a railing and with all the agility of Jack, walked along it.

"Don't tell me it's never tried to talk to you." She said, looking over at Jack. She was standing still and Tooth had to laugh. Eyes fell on her and she blushed.

"Sorry it's just, how you stand with it. It's a very Jack stance."Tooth rubbed her fingers together, wanting to apologise. The girl was smiling now; leaning on one leg on the railing, with the bottom of the staff against the floor to keep her upright. It was strange seeing the staff without it's frosty details, as plain wood. It looked ancient, and the others knew that it was exactly the same as a Jack's spirit. Jack's panic was enough, and the worry boiled over.

"Stop it!" he shouted, more angry than he expected. It was meant to be a plea. The staff shook, and in an instant frosted over. Frost struck out at the girl, and the staff shook her off. The force blasted her back through the air, and into Phil as he came through the door. She bounced off the yeti and hit the floor, with Phil dropping her bow onto the floor next to her. Jack rushed ahead and grabbed the staff before it could hit the floor. The touch sent the small frost spirals along it's surface again. She stood slowly, dusting off her legs as she did. Jack spun around to face her and before he could shout an apology she was chuckling.

"Sorry mate, didn't mean to push you so far." She said; sincerity dripping from her voice. _That wasn't very Pitch like. Jack thought._ Jack watched her, then saw the other thing Phil was holding. The yeti seemed shocked to where he stood. He looked a little silly, standing there like a deer caught in te headlights, holding a pile of green fabric. Jack blinked, and realised that was the firsty time he'd seen the cloak since she'd arrived. She hadn't been wearing it. Phil threw it onto the girl and left, obviously confused as to how to take the situation. This knocked the bow from her hands again, and it hit the ground with a clack of wood on wood. She pulled the fabric from where it had landed over head and looked at it, shaking her head.

"So that's where it got to; no good yeti." She said, laughing to herself as if she'd forgotten the others were there. She pulled the cloak over her body until it was sitting normally. Toothiana let out a gasp as she saw the cloak. The girl looked down and stared at her own cloak. It was old, as old as she was, properly. Phil had cleaned it til the fabric was as green as it was when she had first gotten the cloak. Tiny stars had been embroidered onto the fabric with gold thread, the front of the cloak had a figure embroidered onto it; a figure pulling back on a bow string, arrow ready to fire. The tip of the arrow was filled in with the golden thread, shimmering as the fabic moved. Tiny pockets had been sewn inside of the cloak, ideal for holding her sand. The fabric rippled as it sat on her body, as if a breeze was flowing through it. She spun to face Phil, ready to chase the yeti, to see him still standing there. He was holding something else, unwrapped; it was made of beautiful leather. It looked like an arrow quiver, but was much longer and wider. She took the item, and looped the long leather straps over her shoulders so that it sat snug against her back. Her bow slipped perfectly into the hole in the leather. She looked at Phil, who had indeed run off this time. Turning again, her eyes settled on the guardians, who were staring at North. The large man shrugged and looked at her with a smile.

"Phil enjoys having someone to create for, does not get to use leather much." North walked past, patting her shoulder twice, and continuing on to check on the yetis work. He expected her to flinch at his touch, but she stood straight, taking the contact without hesitation.

Jack was ecstatic. He had been bored the past few days, and had somehow managed to convinced the other Guardians to agree to a snowball fight. They were all in the middle of the fight when a stray snowball flew from the group, hitting the window of the girl's room. The sudden noise shook her from her book. Looking out of the window she shook her head and smiled. _They're basically children themselves._ She smiled to herself as she left the room, grabbing her gear as she did. She took a short run at a railing, and jumped onto it, before pushing herself upwards. She managed to just grab the edge of the skylight and pull herself upwards and out into the air. Toothiana was busy delivering armfuls of snowballs to the boys, who were throwing them at one another.

North had built himself a miniature version of the North Pole out of snow as his base, Bunny had a giant egg with numerous windows for taking shots out of and Jack had built himself a miniature castle, complete with snow flags that fluttered in the air. Jack was aparently winning, and had made a crown from snow, that was sitting on his head. He was standing on one of his towers, enjoying watching the others fight more so than joining in, content that he would be the victor. She kept watching, enjoying the show for some time before she finally moved into position. She perched on the very edge of the dome, as close as she could without slipping off. She carefully loaded an arrow and pulled the string back, feeling the wood ready itself. _Watch out, Paddle pop._

 _Crack._ The arrow flew straight from the string, creating a satisfying sound as it left the bow string. True to everything the girl had said, it flew straight each and every time; this was no different. The arrow flew straight, until it hit the crown, where it exploded into a cloud of sand, shattering apart the crown with it. She wanted to disappear again, drop back into her room but North had seen her just after she had released the arrow. He let out a hearty laugh as the arrow broke the crown, which brought Jack's attention.

"Oi, who did that!" He yelled out at the others. Bunny had seen her now as well, and looked worried, but amused. Jack found her, his face changing to one of total amusement. He jumped onto the very roof of the tower and waved wildly one of his arms.

"Are you joining in?!" He yelled out, excited. She held a hand up, letting the sand trail up from her pockets. Sandy was also watching it seemed, as the sand seemed to sing, as it often did near it's creator. The sand drifted together, forming a crown that matched Jack's.

"Joining in Paddle pop? I just won."She yelled back down. The comment brought more laughter from North, and even some from Bunny. She heard a yell from North; Jack had launched himself into the air and floated up until he was level with her, but still quite out from the building.

"A competition? I hit you with a snowball, you hit me with an arrow. First to happen wins." He asked, the wind picking up so slightly from his presence.

"Sure Paddlepop, what does the winner get?" She asked, not wanting to ask. Jack thought for a second, then is face grew into a grin.

"I want the bow, you can have the staff. Just to play with for a bit." He offered. She saw Bunny's face and knew what it meant. _Don't do it, Jack._ Bunny looked petrified. Toothiana as well, though she wouldn't say anything to the girl. She nodded, and quickly dodged the snowball that Jack lazily threw. He could fly; he only had the chance to win this. Jack had flown off back back towards his castle ad didn't watch as she pulled her cloak off, readjusted her bow holder and jumped from the roof. Sand dropped from her hand, forming a platform mid air that she landed on, jumping away again when the snowballs came towards her; Jack had noticed her. Jack didn't want to go to fast, she was likely still weak. She hadn't properly recovered. The first arrow came awfully close to Jack's hand. Narrowly missing it, he heard it break apart behind him as it hit a small ice bank. They came in fast after that.

Jack jumped every few seconds, narrowly avoiding each arrow as it came past his head. The other Guardians had abandoned their snow forts and and sat together on a softer patch of snow nearby, and watched the ongoing battle. Tooth and North were enjoying the show, North especially. Bunny was also enjoying it, but didn't want to outwardly show it to the others; he still wasn't sure about her. Sandy floated around and watched on as well, enjoying watching the clouds of sand when the arrows struck something. It had been a few seconds now since the last arrow had flown past Jack. It was only the feeling of sand brushing against his neck that caused him to look up, just in time. The golden portal opened up above him, allowing her to begin her fall towards him. Jack shot away in time, but felt the next arrow burst against his back. He heard the shouts of the others, and her laugh, and gave a sigh as she let go of his flight. He let the wind carry him, dropping him softly beneath the North Pole's outwards bank. The little area sat in the shadow of the huge structure above it. It was cold and quiet, Jack loved it. Jack sat up and was about to stand himself up when he felt the air push him back, and felt the two feet land either side of his body. He saw the arrow sparkle in front of his eyes, then her face behind it. She was smiling, her body shaking as she felt her breathing catch up to her. It had been exhausting but damn, it had felt _good._ Jack laughed and held both hands up.

"Good job, winner." Jack laughed and went to sit up. He saw the look on her face before he heard the whinny behind him.

"No!" She yelled out in a solid breath, and struck up with her bow like a sword. The glowing end of the bow stretch out, forming a blade made of the sand. The blade sliced up through the nightmare without difficulty. It wasn't the sensation of the nightmare that made her bood run cold, nor was it the panic in Jack's eyes, it was the feeling that ran up her arms and into her chest as she swung upwards. She looked down to see Jack half sat up, one arm laying on the ground, and the other raised, his hand rubbing his cheek. She saw the gash on his cheek, and the smaller one above it, on his forehead. She stumbled back a few steps and dropped the bow at her feet as she raised her hands to her mouth.

"No, oh no no no no." She whispered. She heard them before they spoke; it wasn't a word she had heard, it was Toothiana's scream.

"Jack!" The fairy yelled as she flew past the girl and knelt next to Jack.

"W-what happened?" She asked, checking his cheek. "What did you do?" Toothiana didn't look at her, but she knew the question was for her.

"I-it was. I didn-'She tried, her words falling out of her mouth without making a sentence. She heard a scoff come from Bunnymund.

"I said it, didn't I?" he said, looking at North. North was hesitant to speak. She shook her head.

"No! I didn't-"

"Didn't do it?! It flamin' well looks like you did!" Bunny shouted, pointing to Jack. She looked over, watching Toothiana try to keep Jack still, while he tried just as hard to get to his feet. He was trying to speak, but was being spoken over by Toothiana as she worried. The warm had settled in her stomach and felt it rise up. She stared at Jack, and shook her head.

"I told you lot." Bunny said, with a firm stamp of his paw into the snow. "She's not-" She didn't let Bunny finish the sentence. _Not one of us._ He didn't need to; she could finish it herself.

"Bunny stop it!" Jack managed to yell, pulling himself to his feet, pushing Tooth aside as he did. Tooth gave a tiny huff, more hurt than anything and rose to a standing position. Jack looked over, frantic, wanting to fix it.

She gave a soft smile and shrugged. Sand had begun to swirl at her feet; Jack stepped forwad to stop her but stumbled ever so slightly. He felt drained; he felt off.

"I'm not too worried Paddlepop. Did you hear about the last person they didn't trust? They made 'em into a guardian.' With that, she fell through the portal as it opened up beneath her, and quickly closed back in on itself. Jack lurched forward, but only managed to grab a handful of snow. The portal had closed; revealing the snow covered ground again. Jack stared at the snow in disbelief. The tohers helped him up, and took him into the pole to sit and rest, and to let North check his wound. Jack shook them off, tapped his staff on the ground and flew up to the skylight, letting himself in.

He was standing in the study, pacing more so, when the others found him. Tooth tried to get Jack to sit down, his face needed to be looked at.

"I'm fine, it's fine!" He shouted at them. It wasn't often they heard him yell; it startled them. Tooth fluttered back a few inches and watched Jack. Bunny hopped a head a few steps, replacing Tooth.

"Hey mate, it's alright. She was someone you thought was friend. It's fine to be mad." Bunny tried to calm the spirit, whe was scowling at them.

"I'm mad at you! All of you!" She shouted again. His staff trembled in his hand, and he threw it back onto the ground. "I can't believe you did it again." He said, his voice was bitter.

Sandy floated towards Jack, and Jack didn't move. He was staring at the ground when he asked Sandy. 'What did you think of her?"

Sandy thought for a second, then let a thumbs up symbol pop up above him. Jack nodded at the little man, and looked at the others.

"It's dark down there. It's dark, and cold, and it's a spot I know so well. It was different today." Jack leant against the back of one of North's large armchairs. He felt the gash in his cheek slowly freezing over; it would heal fine. He felt the sudden brush of eathers against his palm and gave a smile as Baby Tooth nestled into his pocket.

"Different how?" North asked, placing the bow onto his table. Jack's eyes found the bow, and the scowl flash back onto his face.

"There was a nightmare. Why do you have that?" He asked; demanding an answer. The words hit the other guardians at once.

"Oh." Said Tooth.

"That's it?" Jack asked, not believing what was happening.

"You did it again! I had no idea it was there! I don't think I would have even noticed it. Why do you have it?" He asked again, staring at the bow. It's glow had stopped; the wording had faded away until the bow looked to be made of plain wood.

"It was on floor, in snow." North said.

"Uh huh." Jack said, walking back to pick up his staff.

"What mate?" Bunny asked. "You think we took it?" The Bunny was ready to argue when Jack spun back around.

"She knew." He said, falling bakwards into the large plush couch that they kept in the study. The words hadn't truly sunk in until now. "How does she know?"

North looked at Jack, sitting in his own chair.

"Know what Jack? She make funny comment is all." North said, explaining it away as if it was so simple.

"No, Jack's right. The Guardian comment? It was about us, it was about easter. In the warren." Toothiana expalined, and watched as the others understood.

"I told you! She-" Bunny was interrupted by a nasty look from Tooth.

"She saved Jamie though. Pitch _knows_ Jamie. If she helped him, ever, surely she would've destroyed him herself." Jack leant back in his soft couch and rubbed his hands into his eyes. "God, Jamie couldn't even see her."


	8. Chapter 8 - A True Guardian

**Chapter 8**

 _ **A True Guardian**_

She fell out into the snow, making no real attempt to land properly as she fell out of her portal. She was still in the cold, in the snow, but it was far away enough. The wind was fierce, sending cold snow into her face, against her skin, and her eyes. She felt the cold dig into her skin again, and she screamed. She yelled out into the wind, letting it coat the inside of her throat.

"Why me? Why did you pick me for this? I hate it, I hate them, I hate the cold and I bloody well hate Jack Frost!" She shouted, the sand whipped out from her hand. The sand cracked against the ice around her, cutting deep lines into the surface and the layers beneath. This continued for what felt like hours, though it was likely only minutes. She finally had run out of sand in her pockets, and was no longer strong enough to pull any back from the ground. She fell to her knees and realised she had begun crying, and felt the sobs escaping her chest. She was mad at Jack for being so welcoming and trying to get her into their group and she was mad at herself for letting it happen.

Gasping for air between her sobs , she slowly stood up and searched the ground for her bow but she couldn't see it. _No. Oh no, no no no no_. It was there still, it had to be. She had dropped the bow and left, without even thinking to get it. _It's broken, it must be._ She told herself; convinced they had broken it, or throw it into a fireplace somewhere in that god damn place. Settling into a kneeling position again, she took in the ice around her. Snow had been thrown aside,and the ice underneath cut with deep, jagged lines as the sand had sliced through it. The sobs began a new, and she thought back to the conversation she'd had with Jack, after he had found her in the snow.

"I hope you felt it!" She screamed out; wondering if the wind would carry the words to the winter spirit. She wanted it to. She wanted the words to get to Jack, to the others and show them how right they had been about her. Wishing harm to Jack, wishing they could feel how god damn hurt _she was._ It was hours she knelt there, bursting into sobs every now and then, before she portaled herself away from the cold, hoping to find somewhere lovely and warm, somewhere free of the risk of frostbite. _Go help someone else._ She thought bitterly, as she dropped into the portal.

Months passed, and soon enough it was December again. North was in full prep mode, so Jack spent most of his time visiting the others, and keeping an eye on Jamie. He would visit the others but wouldn't talk much during the trips, which were short. He made the trips just long enough to confirm everything was running smoothly, then would fly off on the wind to the next Guardian, and the next, visiting all five before going to back to the woods near repeated every other day; the guardians grew used to Jack's short visits, figuring he was busy during the colder months. However, they had all noticed the lack of chatter from Jack. He had always been quiet with them, with fair reasoning but it had gotten better after Pitch's defeat. Jack would tell them about Jamie and Sophie, about his travels, and how much winter was different around the world. He had gone back to old habits, hiding in his hood when the others were around. They felt the knew why, but none had been able to raise the matter to the others.

Jack had finished his rounds and was climbing through Jamie's window, when he saw the sparkle on the windowsill. Jack stood up inside Jamie's room and gave a soft laugh as the boy ran to him and hugged his arms around Jack's waist in a hug.

"What's that?" Jack asked Jamie, looking at the small pile of dream sand that was sitting on the window sill. He brushed the dust away, which only flew a few inches before it looped back in the air and formed back into a tidy pile.

"Oh I saw it the other day, I thought I got rid of it. There's few others in town I've seen. I thought maybe they were something Sandy had left behind with the nightmares and stuff." Jamie smiled at Jack, and pulled the frost spirit away from the window.

The two chatted and played for a few hours until it was dark, and Jamie had to join his family for dinner. Jack jumped through the window of Jamie's bedroom and flew off in the wind, beginning the trip to see the others. He felt good, after properly getting to spend time with Jamie. He felt like he had neglected the child recently and wanted to squish down the feeling of guilt in his chest. The wind carried him fast, and they chatted together about what was happening around the world. The wind had been Jack's first friend after his rebirth; it was a special bond they had formed. The wind dropped Jack through the skylight and gave a gentle whistle in goodbye.

Jack landed on his feet and as greeted by the other guardians standing in a semi circle, facing a target that been hung on one of the walls of the North Pole.

"Uhhh, hi?" Jack's words were punctuated by the thunk of an arrow landing near his feet.

"Backwards?!" Bunny shouted, throwing the bow to the ground in frustration. Tooth gasped and picked the bow up, carefully placing it on a table. North was sitting nearby watching, having had his turn. Tooth and Sandy had also tried, with no better luck.

"Jack! Give go!" North yelled, waving to Jack from his seat. Bunny gave a huff and hopped to a seat, where he settled in, folding his arms in front of his chest. Jack rested his staff against the table and looked at the bow, raising his ahdn but holding it above the wooden shaft.

"What are we doing? This isn't ours." He said, unsure if they should be playing with it.

"Is test!" North yelled, as if that answered the question.

"We were wondering if it was just any ol' bow, we wanted to see how the flamin' thing worked." Bunny explained a little more clearly.

"What's the verdict?" Jack asked as he carefully lifted the bow and placed the arrow against the string like he had seen her do. He raised it slowly, and stared at the target.

"It doesn't." North said, more than a little annoyed.

Jack smiled as he pulled back on the string. It felt odd to hold, like his hands were ready to drop it any time. It felt alien in his hands. He focused carefully on the bow. How did she do it? He wondered; he had an idea.

"Fly straight, please." He whispered, so the others wouldn't hear him. He didn't want to perform poorly. He pulled back just a little more and let go. He heard the snap of the string as the arrow flew forward, and heard an angry voice whisper back.

 _No._

The arrow flew forward, then sharply turned to the right, hitting the wall next to Bunny's head. Jack dropped the bow to the floor, rubbing his hands on his hoodie. It felt so wrong in his hands; he hated it. He saw the bow on the ground and cringed. Carefully he picked it up and placed it on the table again.

"I didn't meant to drop you." He whispered.

"Jack did no better! It just doesn't work!" Bunny declared. Jack shook his head.

"It spoke." He said. Tooth looked at him. North's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What did it say?" North asked, looking at the regular wooden bow that sat in his workshop.

"No." He said, looking at the the others then back to the bow. "I asked it to fly straight and it said no."

"Why did you ask?" North was curious.

"That's how I ride the wind, I ask it nicely and it picks me up. I was thinking maybe it was the same." Jack wondered to himself, and picked the bow up again. He carefully notched another arrow and took aim at the target.

"Fly straight." He said; trying to make the words sound like an order.

 _Make me._

The words hit his ears as a hissed whisper.

 _Who are you?_

The others words came just as he let go of the arrow, which simply fell to the floor in front of him and clattered against the wooden floor.

He held the bow in his hands, one finger still gently holding the string in his fingers.

 _I don't know who you are, you are not my hunter. Give me back._

"I-I don't know where she is." Jack said out loud, feeling the words catch in his throat. The voice was soft when it wasn't hissing at him; like a mother missing a child.

 _I like the one with the feathers; she is gentle. You are also gentle, but so cold. She is old, like me. I have met others like her. Old, damaged by time and her experiences. My girl is so young, she has not been damaged by this world yet. The Pooka is also old but does not seem to learn from his experiences. Take me home._

The last words were an order; Jack felt it. He dropped the bow on the table. The voice was painful to hear, and had made his throat ache as he held back the tears he knew would come if he let them. He rubbed his eyes and looked at North.

"What's a Pooka?" Jack asked. North blinked and pointed at Bunnymund. Jack followed the fingers and looked at Bunny.

"What puts that word in your head Frosty?" Bunny asked, confused at the boy. They had never discussed that world before.

"The bow did. It likes Tooth, It said it's met people like her before. It said the Pooka is old as well, but has not learn from his experiences." Jack stared at the bow, shivering for a moment. "I wonder what my staff said to her." He said, looking at the staff. It had not said anything, not even a whisper. It hadn't for a long time.

"The staff attacked her though." Tooth said, looking at the bow, then the staff, then Jack. Jack rubbed a hand against the side of his neck.

"No- it. It did but I think it was because I was freaking out so much about it being broken again."

The words caught the others by surprise; this was news. Jack knew it was over, and settled into a seat as he eplained it all. The hole, the fairies in the cages, the tooth box and then Pitch. Bunny was practically shaking with anger when Jack finished.

"He broke it in half?! Just like that!" The Bunny, apparently actually a Pooka, yelled. Jack gave a nod and a shrug. It was ages ago now, he didn't really think about it anymore. Seeing her hold the staff had brought it all back to the surface. It was taken from him so easily. Jack cared for the staff more than anything; he owned few items as a spirit, and it was one of the few things that tied him to Jack Overland. That was seasons ago now, but the first time he held the staff after he came back was one of his strongest memories. Jack finished his story and looked over at Sandy with a smile.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Jamie, Sandy." Jack said to the golden man. Sandy made a question mark out of his hand, his face furrowed in confusion.

"The sand on his window sill, if you brush it away it just floats back to this little pile. He said he's seen a few others around town." Jack said, making the motion of him dusting away the dust. The question mark was joined by others. Jack looked at Sandy, not knowing what to say. The oldest guardian would never lie to Jack, and had no reason to. The Guardians sat in silence, not realising that there were lights on their globe flickering. One of those lights did not flick back on.

Jamie woke up from his dream in a sweat, looking around his room. He shook his head and looked down at his nightlight, but could not see it. He was sure it was turned on when he had fallen asleep; his mother never turned it off. She knew it was importan to him. The house felt darker than usual; the cold darkness that filled his room worried Jamie, so he climbed out of bed, slid his slippers ona and went to his sisters room. He could hear the crying from the hallway, and rushed to the room. He threw the door open to find his sister on her bed, room just as dark as Jamie's, with the horrid whinnying filling the air. Jamie didn't think before running into the room; he grabbed Sophie's arm and pulled her up, and out of her bedroom door. He ran down the hallway, pulling her along, knowing the nightmares would follow. He climbed onto his bed with Sophie, and held her tight. He pulled the blnaket over top of both of them. He whispered to the wind, begging it to find and warn Jack, to be quick. The wind knew Jamie's voice, and made sure it flew as fast as it could across the world, until it flew into the North Pole. The Guardians were startled from their silence by the sudden angry wind that battered against the walls of the building. Not angry, paniced, Jack realised. He grabbed his staff and stood up, nearly tripping over his own feet when he heard Jamie's plea, and Sophie's cries on the wind as it whipped through the wind, creeping in through cracks in the window frame. The Guardians all heard the wind's message and without a word spoken bewteen them, were soon jumping into one's of North's portals. They fell into the streets of Burgess, outside of Jamie's home. The house was quiet, nothing seemed out of place. The group looked around the house, not wanting to miss anything. Jack heard the whinnying in the distance, and shot towards it. The cries of Sophie grew louder as he closed the distance; the other guardians followed close behind him.

Jack found the two in a clearing in the words, kneeling in the snow. A rock sat behind Jamie, keeping the two cornered by the circle of nightmares that were slowly closing around them.

"Jack!" Jamie yelled out, seeing the winter spirit, as one of the mares leaped out towards them. Sophie let out a scream as the nightmare reared down, then whinnied loudly as it's feet were stopped in mid air. The hourse bounded back as if in pain and snorted over at the children. A dome of gold light had shot up around the children, creating a wall between them and the ghastly horses. The nightmares approached as ones, then twos and tried to kick the light away. They screeched and whinnied as they angrily fought against the light which Sandy noticed; was not truly light, but sand. The dome was made of grains of his dream sand, sitting in a tidy circle around the children.

The guardians had begun the attack; fighting off the nightmares one by one, but their numbers didn't seem to dwindle. North and Bunny were surrounded by the shadowy creatures, while Tooth and Jack flew overhead, hoping to fight the creatures back. Bunny heard it best, due to his larger ears, but the others heard the sound as well; a sharp crack in the distance, followed by a pained whinny. The herd of angry nightmares responded, twisting where they stood and racing off towards the sound.

"A cry for help?"Bunny asked, recognising the tone of the whinny. It was not a langauge any of them spoke; it was a tone of voice that had heard from many creatures in the past. Sandy took the job of taking the children home; he could get them to sleep easily, and check the house for more shadows. The others followed the nightmares as they raced through the trees to help one of their own. Soon they raced into a larger clearing, and the guardians stayed back as they watched the nightmares race at the shape in the centre of the clearing.

 _Friend!_

Jack hearded the excited voice in his head and recognised it; he hadn't even noticed he had grabbed the bow. It was looped over his head, the string keeping it on his shoulders. Jack gasped when he properly looked at the figure; even from the distance he saw the green cloak. It was harder to see in the dark but the flash of red hair was enough to explain who it was. One nightmares leaped up, and flew at the figure. A string of dream sand flew outwards to the nightmare, and wrapped around it's neck. With a panicked whinny, the nightmare exploded into a cloud of black sand. The nightmares responded as a herd, and attacked. The cloud of black creatures flew down at the shape, and two more strings of sand came out. Whips; like she had learnt to use so long ago. She sliced at the creatures, cutting their numbers down much quicker than the guardians had been able to. The bright streaks of sand cut through the air, but it slowly became apparent the nightmares were closing in. Jack pulled the bow from his back, and the others raced into action, attacking the nightmares from behind. The creatures were taken by surprise; they had forgotten about the guardians. Jack watched on as the light in the centre grew darker, as the creatures closed in on their target. Jack felt his hand shake; the bow had begun vibrating in his hand. Jack stared in horror; she had no weapon. The sand would run out, and she would easily be over run by the creatures.

"I owe her, don't I." He said, as he grabbed his staff and was picked up by the wind. Jack hovered overhead. He wouldn't be able to get to the centre; not without being spotted by the nightmares and dragged into the battle. He tightened his grip on his staff and nodded to himself, once. He looped the string of the bow over his staff's crook and took aim. _God, I hope this works._ He thought to himself, desperately hoping this wasn't the worst idea he'd had in 300 years. Jack thrust his arm forward, releasing the staff into the air with desperate strength. The staff flew through the air, through the growing cloud of blackened sand and whinnies, and sank into the snow that covered the ground. The whips had just died, and the light flickered before going out. Jack was carried by the wind and dropped down by the other Guardians, just outside of the nightmares.

From within the centre of the mass Jack saw something flicker. Something small, a sliver of dream sand seemed to had relit it's light. The mass dispersed, while a few remained to fight the guardians, the other nightmares seemed to fade away. The Guardians circled back, their backs facing where the fight had just taken it's first casualty. The Guardians stood close, Jack in the centre of the guardians. He hadn't noticed Sandy's arrival. The group readied to charge; the nightmares reared, racing forward, their target obvious. They recognised Jack Frost, and had made their decision. Jack raised his staff, ready for the impact. He was ready for the attack from the approaching group of six nightmares, not for someone from behind. He felt his hoodie become taut and felt his feet leave the floor as he was yanked backwards from where he stood. It was an instantaneous movement, and before he knew it the nightmares were rearing down on him. Nothing touched him, he felt safe, and felt no pain in his body.

He looked up at the girl who had pulled him backwards; she had raised her bow but hadn't fired yet. The arrow shot into the sky, as the nightmares descended onto the girl. The guardians heard the pained yell as the girl disappeared into a mass of black sand; Jack was distracted, he had seen Jamie. The boy had somehow followed Sandman back to where they were. Jack yelled out to Jamie, telling him to leave. This got the nightmare's attention; if they could not Jack Frost, they would end his first believer. As they turned their attention to Jamie, the arrow had fallen, and struck the ground. The arrow exploded into a bright cloud of dream sand that billowed out and engulfed the Guardians. The nightmares cried out into the night; the sound soon fading until the air was quiet again. The other guardians had moved from Jack, and were now looking at the girl laying in the snow.

Jamie raced over and hugged Jack; his face wet from tears. Jack held the boy, who looked up and over his shoulder.

"Who's that, Jack?" Jamie asked, his eyes finding the green cloak and red hair.


End file.
